1.
here, men once buried one city
under another city. buried
ancient words in silt. buried gods
in a swamp. buried oracles
who choked on mud.

2.
here, you don’t need prophets
to see ahead, a glimpse
at the bottom of a fresh, stinking trench
says it all:
look at the pissed off gods poking up at progress.

3.
a few hundred miles north of here
at the edge of a dead empire
men are still
planting corn,
still hoping for water.

4.
now then:

if you found a wall
of black plaster in your basement,
would you tear it down? if you thought you knew
what was back there would you
stab a pry-bar’s fork into that wall
and pull? if you expected
something to step out before
you were halfway through
would you stand there waiting for it?

5.
back in the city they announce the discovery
of another earth god under a construction site.

the rain begins to fall,
the cities fills with water,
all building comes to a standstill.

in the north, the corn grows tall.

6.
and you:

how long
are you planning to stand
with that pry-bar in your hand
staring at that black wall
in your basement?